The $20,000 grill

Because the real fireworks should be reserved for cooking meat

With barbecue season now in full swing, it may be time to go grill shopping. But instead of looking at those name-brand gas or charcoal models typically found in home-improvement stores, how about an outdoor cooker that works either way — and that’s capable of delivering 1,000-degree Fahrenheit temperatures to boot? That’s the promise behind the Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet K1000 Hybrid Fire Grill, but it’s a promise that comes with quite the price tag — $20,695, to be exact. Or about the cost of 200 steak dinners at a fancy-schmancy steakhouse — where they actually cook the meat for you, last we checked.

The $20,695 hybrid fire grill

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Kalamazoo's K1000 Hybrid Fire Grill is billed as a seriously powerful, professional-grade gas grill that also cooks with charcoal and wood. Is it worth $20,695? Charles Passy has the verdict on Lunch Break. Photo: Kalamazoo

But the thrill of owning a Kalamazoo, says the grill manufacturer, is that it allows you to do the cooking in a variety of ways — and with an enormous amount of control. Begin with the “hybrid” aspect: The cooker is built so that the “grilling drawer” sits above the gas burners (cast brass gas burners, mind you). If you want to cook just with gas, leave the drawer empty. If you want to cook with charcoal or wood, fill it up. “Changing fuels is as easy as opening a drawer,” the company boasts.(Of course, you can also cook with gas and charcoal at the same time, which allows for higher heat — good for searing a steak — and more cooking options.)

Still, there’s more to a Kalamazoo than the hybrid feature, the company notes. Because of the grill’s heft (600-plus pounds) and size (the space underneath the cooking surface measures several feet), heat is better distributed and doesn’t easily escape — a contributing factor behind the fact that the cooker can achieve and maintain such high temperatures. (The four high-powered burners, each delivering 25,000 BTUs of cooking power, are another.) Add to that such features as an ignition system that’s “the most reliable…Kalamazoo has ever produced” (the company has a history going back more than a century), a rotisserie drive, ambient LED lighting, a choice of cooking surfaces (yes, you can vary your grill marks) and, perhaps most important of all, 1,000-plus square inches of cooking space.

On top of that, the Kalamazoo team considers the grills as streamlined and striking as they are functional. Each grill is hand-made — in Kalamazoo, Mich., naturally — to the point that Kalamazoo vice president Russ Faulk says he can identify the particular company welder who worked on a particular grill by the signature aspects of their metalwork. Perhaps the only drawback to a Kalamazoo — beyond the price — is that the grills can’t be delivered immediately, Faulk says. Buyers should expect a turnaround time of a few weeks. Why so long? “Every grill is made to order,” Faulk explains.

The reality:

Make no mistake: As expensive as the Kalamazoo grill is, the cooker definitely has its fans. Grill authority Derrick Riches of About.com calls Kalamazoo “the best gas grill in the world” (and he also likes the flexibility of its hybrid grill). But Riches and other grill experts also say that a good grill — gas or charcoal — can easily be found for under $1,000.

Actually, forget about the gas – at least if you’re serious about flavor. Most culinary experts prefer charcoal or wood because of the smoky taste it imparts during cooking. “If you want real outdoor flavor, then a charcoal grill with a rotisserie would be what I recommend. There is something about eating charred meat off a bone that brings out everyone’s inner caveman,” says grill enthusiast Dave Anderson, author of “Famous Dave’s Barbecue Party Cookbook.”

But what should one look for in a charcoal grill — or a gas one, for that matter? With charcoal, it’s important to make sure that the grill has enough space to allow for indirect cooking (meaning the meat is not directly over the flames). That’s the slow-cook method that’s considered the essence of barbecue. Another key consideration, according to Derrick Riches: The grill should be capable of being “closed up tight enough to put out the fire. This allows charcoal to be saved from one cookout to the next.”

As for gas grills, Riches says to avoid worrying about too many extras — especially if you’re grilling only occasionally. And don’t get a grill that’s larger than your needs, since it will “simply consume fuel while not providing extra value.” But the key issue, says Riches, is durability: Too many cheaper grills are cheap for a reason. He suggests a “shake test” to see if the grill has the potential to hold up for the longer run: “Grab the grill by the lid, lift a few inches and shake the grill,” he says. If the grill feels too light or if there’s a whole lot of shaking going on, then you’ll know the grill is made of poorer quality materials.

As for brand names, grill experts suggest that Weber remains the king, both in the charcoal and gas categories. And it has high-quality charcoal models for under $200. With gas, Riches cites Broil King and Napoleon as other worthy contenders with “good cooking performance.” He also likes a Huntington three-burner model, available exclusively through Lowe’s for under $400.

But wait, if you can get a good charcoal grill for under $200 and a good gas one for $400, why not just buy two grills and skip the $20,000 hybrid model? To some extent, that’s a point not disputed by Kalamazoo’s Russ Faulk. He says a seasoned outdoor chef can produce a worthy feast from almost any grill. The difference with the Kalamazoo is that it makes it much easier to do so, particularly because of its heat distribution and retention. In short, he believes the Kalamazoo stands in a class by itself: “We have competitors, we don’t necessarily have rivals,” he says of other grill manufacturers.

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